ITP Glossary: Zone Blocking

Football is littered with specialized terminology. From split zone to down block, commentators rarely get to explain everything you need to know before the next play. Inside The Pylon’s glossary was developed to give fans a deeper understanding of the game through clear explanations, as well as image and video examples. Please contact us with any terms or phrases you’d like to know more about.

Zone Blocking

Zone blocking is a running scheme in which the offensive linemen block gaps, rather than a power blocking scheme where each lineman is responsible for a specific defender. The offensive line typically flows to one side of the field in unison, with blocking responsibilities developing as the players move in concert. A staple of this design is the cutblock along the backside of the play to prevent defenders from pursuing to the football, and to create potential bend, or cutback, lanes.

While the concept dates back to the Vince Lombardi‘s1960s-era Green Bay Packers, it is most identified with the 1990s Denver Broncos with OL coach Alex Gibbs and maintained by the Mike Shanahan coaching tree. Gibbs taught four basic runs: outside zone and inside zone, which can be run to either the right or left. By keeping the number of concepts down, the unit can master these four runs against a variety of defensive fronts.

Philadelphia runs inside zone left on this play, with the offensive line moving in unison off the snap. Because both right tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce (#62) are uncovered, they move to the second level, looking to block the linebackers. The rest of the unit is supposed to block left, but it does not go well: [jwplayer file=”http://cdn.insidethepylon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NFLReview3EaglesPlay1Video1.mp4″ image=”http://cdn.insidethepylon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NFLReview3EaglesPlay1Still1.jpg”]

The outside linebacker, O’Brien Schofield (#50), gets inside of Ertz and blows this play up.

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